Russia said on Wednesday that it will renew its participation in the agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, just four days after suspending its role in the agreement.
Moscow had withdrawn over the weekend, saying it could not guarantee the safety of civilian ships crossing the Black Sea due to a drone attack on its fleet there.
“The Russian Federation considers that the guarantees received for the time being seem sufficient, and resumes the implementation of the agreement,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The U-turn came after a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday and repeated talks between their defense ministers.
The United Nations and Turkey get involved
The ministry said that, thanks to the involvement of the United Nations and Turkey, it had been possible to obtain written guarantees from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports to carry out military operations against Russia.
The statement represents a turnaround by Moscow, which had previously said it would be risky and unacceptable for the ships to continue to navigate the humanitarian corridor established under a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN in July.
The Moscow Twist
Despite the Russian move, ships have continued to export Ukrainian grain, moving a record volume on Monday.
Russian political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said Wednesday’s announcement represented an acknowledgment by Putin that he could not block the shipments.
“The Kremlin itself just fell into a trap that it didn’t know how to get out of,” he said.
“We had to go back and put on a brave face (not very successfully) in the face of a bad game. That is to say, Putin, as concerned as he is about Ukraine, his historic mission and his faith that he is right, remains a moderately rational politician who knows how to back down if necessary.”
Information of: israelnews.com
Photo credits: Reuters
